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Noted Cuban pianist in series
PROVIDED
Cuban-born pianist Jorge Luis Prats will perform as part of the College of Charleston's International Piano Series on Tuesday at the Sottile Theatre.
With the subject of Cuba highly visible in the news these days, from trade embargos to the arts, Jorge Luis Prats, considered to be Cuba's foremost pianist, will perform with the College of Charleston's International Piano Series at 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Sottile Theatre. This will be the final concert of the 2007-08 season. Next year's season will be announced Tuesday. Enrique Graf, who founded the series 18 years ago and is artist-in-residence at the college's School of the Arts, noted this is Prats' third time to perform here. "While many artists in Cuba are denied visas to travel, when Jorge first performed here in 2000, he was one of the few classical pianists allowed out of the country, and that was because he was held in such high esteem by the Cuban government," says Graf. "About two years ago, however, Jorge became a citizen of Spain and now lives in Miami. Since he left Cuba, he is able to perform more in the United States." The Cuban musician's concert tours have taken him to every nation in the European continent and to North, South and Central America, as well as to China, Japan and Korea. Tuesday's program will include "Bachianas Brasileiras No. 4" by Heitor Villa-Lobos, "Altagracia (Tango)" by Carlos Farinas, "Goyescas Suite" by Enrique Granados and six pieces by Ernesto Lecuona. At age 21, Prats won the Gran Prix at the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud International Piano Competition in Paris. He also garnered prizes for the best interpretation of the music of Maurice Ravel and Andre Jolivet and brought home a Chevillon Bonnard Award and a Mohan Award. The pianist won the Gold Medal at the Katia Popova Festival in Bulgaria and First Prize at the Amadeo Roldan Competition in Havana, where he was decorated with Cuba's highest awards granted to national and international performers and purveyors of the arts and culture. He has performed as soloist with the Royal Philharmonic in London, with the BBC Orchestra, the EOS Orchestra of New York, the Dallas Symphony, the Mexico City Orchestra, the Colombia Philharmonic and Venezuela's Simon Bolivar Orchestra. His recordings for Deutsche Gramophone, Musical Heritage, the BBC and Pathe Marconi include the entirety of the works for piano and orchestra by Rachmaninoff, the Chopin Concertos and a considerable roster of Cuban music. Prats was born in 1956 in Camaguey, Cuba, and upon graduation from the National Arts College was awarded a scholarship to the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow. He continued his education at the Paris Conservatory and in Vienna. He has been a frequent guest professor at the National University of Colombia, South America; the Conservatory of Cordoba, Spain; The Center for Fine Arts in Mexico and the Glenn Gould Royal Conservatory in Toronto. Tickets to the concert are $20 with College of Charleston students and those under 18 admitted free. To reserve tickets, call 953-6575, or go online at www.internationalpianoseries.org. Tickets also will be sold at the door the night of the concert.
Redux Art Center The Redux Contemporary Art Center will host a panel discussion about the increasing lack of available space for the arts in downtown Charleston at 7 p.m. April 24. The public is invited. Seth Curcio, director of the Redux Center, says of his decision to hold the panel discussion, "An unintended consequence of the boom in real estate values on the peninsula has been the loss of studio space for artists, the removal of arts organizations from downtown Charleston and a lack of affordable space for new growth and creative expansion for existing organizations." He adds, "This problem has led to a loss of both working artists and (performing arts) organizations, as some have to move to other cities to find the resources they need. The focus of the panel discussion will be to attempt to find solutions to this problem, with a focus on the resources and opportunities needed to maintain a healthy arts presence downtown." Curcio says he wants to give the general public the opportunity to hear arts representatives discuss the future of the arts in our city. Also, the public will be able to voice their own concerns to members of the panel. Some examples of artists who have left the city are Charleston native Tom Durham, who now lives and works in Philadelphia in what he says is an "affordable" downtown loft. Also, Pure Theatre, which recently was forced to vacate its home of five years at the Cigar Factory, 701 East Bay St., is considering moving to North Charleston to a space in the former Charleston Navy Yard owned by the Noisette Company. Panel participants will include: Jeanette Guinn of the S.C. Arts Commission; Paul Huguley of the American College of the Building Arts; Todd Smith, former executive director of the Gibbes Museum of Art; Sharon Graci, co-founder and artistic director of Pure Theatre; Mark Sloan, director of the Halsey Institute for Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston; Ellen Dressler Moryl, executive director of the Office of Cultural Affairs; Linda Fantuzzo, artist; and Curcio. Panel monitor will be Marian Mazzone, chair of the art history department at the College of Charleston and president of the Redux Advisory Board. The Redux Contemporary Art Center is at 136 St. Philip St. Parking is available.
Reach Dottie Ashley at 937-5704 or dashley@postandcourier.com.
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